Chichester District Council To Pull £8m From Reserves To Pay For Pandemic

Chichester District Council plans to use more than £8m from its reserves to pay for the costs it has endured during the pandemic.

The council has lost around £1m each month thanks to the loss of income from things such as car parking charges and an increase in costs such as finding emergency housing for the city’s homeless during lockdown.

A report to a meeting of the corporate governance and audit committee, which is due to meet on Thursday (July 2), said the shortfall is expected to be £8m by the end of the year.

In his report, John Ward, director of corporate services, said:

“The council is facing an extremely challenging financial position.

“It is clear that we will be facing a deficit in the future, but the amount cannot currently be predicted with certainty.

“However, to do nothing to address this will result in reserves being depleted, and still leaves the issue to be addressed once reserves have expired.

“Action must be taken to address the position, and develop a strategy that enables the budget to be balanced over the medium term.”

As well as recommending that money be release from its £22.8m of reserves, councillors have been asked to recommend that the minimum amount that can be held in its General Fund Reserve be lowered from £6.3m to £4m.

Lowering that figure would give the council an extra £2.3m to draw on if needed.

The committee is also expected to recommend that the council work towards balancing its budget over the next five years, using reserves to help plug the gap between now and then.

Their recommendations will be passed to the next meeting of the cabinet, which will be on July 7.

The meeting will start at 9.30am. For details, log on to www.chichester.gov.uk.

By Karen Dunn, Local Democracy Reporter.